Comments on the closing 2012 year for the LA Clippers (2012-2013 season)

The LA Clippers are one enjoyable team to watch. In fact they may be the most enjoying team in the entire league for any sports fan. The greatest thing that Lob City has achieved is that not only they produce great spectacle with the fast paced and highflying rhythm they play with, but they also win games, many games. After winning on the last game of 2012 against the Utah Jazz, they now count 17 consecutive wins, while spending the entire December unbeaten. Only two times in the NBA league history has a team managed to win every single game of a month. The San Antonio Spurs in the 1995-96 season and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1997-72 season. How graceful should it be for Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and their company to be in a position where they have lifted the neglected Clippers over their city-rivals Lakers.

The season started really well from the very beginning for the Clips. Having made some great acquisitions this off-season, like Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes and Grant Hill they seemed to have every piece in place so that they could take it to the next level. They entered the season with an 8-2 run, a pretty impressive start for them. Right after a small period of ups and downs, the Clippers kicked off a run of their lives and started winning every game they played. On November 26th was the last time they fell to an opponent and it was the New Orleans Hornets to do that. Since then, they have broken many team records going 17-0. They passed the franchise history record for the most consecutive wins, previously held by the Buffalo Braves, who back in 1974 had won 11 in a row, but they didn’t stop there. The team went on to win all the games of 2012 and finish the year the best way possible. “We’re going to lose at some point, but this is a magical run,” said Caron Butler, after the last win against the Utah Jazz on December 30th. This winning streak and also the team’s general performance on both ends of the floor is quite impressive, keeping in mind that they are a team that has struggled to even enter the playoffs for the most part of its history. Plus, they have played without the veterans Chauncey Billups and Grant Hill. One can imagine the potential when all the wheels of the machine get to action.

The harmony that Coach Vinnie Del Negro has found between his starters and the reserves is also a noticeable fact. In most cases the starters don’t even have to play in the fourth quarters, as the bench, led by Jamal Crawford and a surprising Matt Barnes, does all the dirty job. Of course Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are right there, when they are needed, ready to take action and hit the clutch shot.

The year 2012 ends with the LA Clippers and their fans full of joy and in fact in a situation better than they may have imagined. It may be the time for them to take the next step and pursuit the first championship in the franchise history.